


IFHY

by Pulp_Reality



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1990s, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Internalized Homophobia, Slow Burn, btw the author is sad and needs validation so comments are appreciated, idk if there will be much fluff here, ish ???, not like romance wise i guess??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pulp_Reality/pseuds/Pulp_Reality
Summary: What’s better than being a teenage girl in the late 90s? Nothing, apparently, or at least the songs on the radio said so. Crystal Methyd herself believes so, until she’s forced to quit her entraining, somewhat rebellious public school lifestyle in Missouri to transfer to Redwood Secondary School for Girls, a secluded boarding school in the outskirts of New York. She’ll get to meet new people, reencounter an old friend, showcase her abilities, succeed, fail and go through the most unlikely situations, but most importantly; why does the gorgeous Gigi Goode from the dorm down the hall hate her so much?
Relationships: Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crystal fucked up badly, forcing her mom to take a desperate solution the teen was going to loathe; being sent away to a well known boarding school in rural New York. But upon arrival, things proved themselves to not be so dire after all.

The silence was tense. It could be cut through with a warm steak knife. It wasn’t even close to being a nice or pleasant moment, like previous ones shared in the space they found themselves in. “Suspended? For the rest of the year?! Why couldn’t you just wait a week to smoke marijuana?” Magdalena Methyd was responded to with a side eye and a tighter silence coming from her daughter. “Oh right, because you don’t think about anyone but yourself” 

Crystal directed her eyes towards the crumbled paper, the bleeding ink calling out her destiny. She was capable of stabbing someone just to prevent the suspension letter from coming in. The opportunity never came, but she swore on her fat cat with a foolish name she would do it. The bone white fragile material rested in serenity on the cup holder of their 1994 Ford Escort, the car her father so feverishly insisted on buying almost two years prior. But now the car was only another memory of the person who bought it. ‘It was a simple car for a simple family’, he usually said, trying to convince them all of something that became unlikely with the years. 

“I don’t know why you’re so mad. My whole class did it!” She finally grumbled when the songs on the radio were not enough of her liking for her to invest her energy distracting herself on that.

“Oh because if your friend jumps off a bridge you’re jumping off too, right?” Maggie bit back, watching from the corner of her eye how Crystal’s lip twitched. She was doing everything humanly possible to hold in the tears, proving how dire the situation was. “I put you in that school for a reason! Immaculate Heart is a blessing. And somehow you still ended up like this” 

“More like Immaculate _Fart._ ” Crystal replied back, finally daring to turn to her, whipping her head with dangerous speed, making it difficult for her mother to stay focused on the road ahead “Like what? If you have problem with me being gay, say it to my face!” 

“I don’t have a problem with you being a lesbian, Crystal. I’m glad I didn’t build any prejudice about sexuality because you’re my kid, I wouldn’t want to lose you. However, I don’t know who this girl sitting next to me is!” She turned her head briefly before continuing to drive through the streets of Springfield, which dawned upon them. It was late, aside from the suspension they were given an extra disciplinary detention, which extended up until 9 PM. 

“What do you mean? I am your daughter!” Crystal responded, genuinely confused, showing so visibly. She threw her body back to the seat, looking to the empty roads with disgust. ‘Everything is garbage’ She swore, narrowing her eyes at the eternal concrete running smoothly under their path. 

“My daughter wouldn’t pierce her nose _and_ nipples without my permission! My daughter wouldn’t sneak out to raves almost naked with a fake ID, running around with bright green hair! My daughter wouldn’t smoke marijuana on school grounds and show up to class high as a kite!” Her mom was quick to list, only from the top of her head “I am going through things and you’re taking advantage of your father’s death to do whatever you please!”

The tears were too few to restrain them, and Crystal was now silently crying in the passenger seat. Her stubborn ass wanted to fight back, she really did, but she knew if she opened her mouth the only thing leaving it was a guttural sob. She never thought of her incapability to hold in her tears a weakness, but rather something similar to a quirk. Her father taught her to think that way. But now that he wasn’t there, she saw it as a disadvantage. Her mom had an entire army of soldiers, and Crystal was by herself if she let out that debilitating sound. 

The tension was thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. Crystal’s stiffened breathing was the only thing close to filling out the deafening silence. Nevertheless, it remained uncomfortable even from watching distance. 

“You know what? That’s it. Your father stopped me from making this decision, but it’s only me now. You’re going to the boarding school” While Mrs. Methyd spoke with authority, without thinking, Crystal rushed to unbuckle her seat belt and open up the car door. And with the most bitter expression she managed to squeeze out between salty tears, she jumped out of the moving car, eliciting a ghostly scream out of her mother and the vehicle to come to a halt. 

The silence was asphyxiating. In retrospective, it felt like déjà vu, resembling the troublesome moment from a few months ago. The difference was, the car wasn’t theirs so it smelled… like a new car, not the comforting known scent to both women. The static the radio displayed due to the lack of a CD in the player was able to madden the sanest mind “Crystal, honey, I—“ 

“Save it.” Crystal limited her response, raising her casted hand up to silence her mother. The green object wasn’t the only striking piece in her choice of outfit, but the crooked writing ‘Fuck you, Mom!’ stuck out the most, giving it a personality of its own. She gave her a look and huffed, exiting the vehicle and instantly getting to the task of seizing her luggage from the trunk. With the irritation proper of the moment, Crystal decided to not take in the beautiful sights around her; the way the burnt out leaves of autumn straying away from the abundant redwood oaks painted a picture perfect paradise. 

Crystal didn’t wait for her mother and walked fast paced towards the entrance with purpose, her backpack swinging from side to side with the angry pace. She tried to pull her luggage smoothly through the rocky surface with constant bothered scoffs and huffs, the warm air released in between fogging in front of her mouth. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I really am. I know this isn’t ideal but this is an excellent option we’ve had in store for years, now seems like it’s the perfect time for it! This is what your father would have wanted” She tried to catch up to the girl, holding her purse tight to prevent it from falling off her shoulder with the fast walk she tried to keep up with, looking around attentively to their surroundings while doing so. 

The place was arguably old, but it maintained a certain freshness to it with various exquisite exposures of art. It made Crystal’s heart flutter around her chest, the opportunity to showcase her abilities were exciting. The place was strangely empty too and the distant cackling added up to the eerie sight of the brownstone building surrounded by the warm toned trees. 

“Oh and how do you know what he would have wanted? He’s dead.” A shudder raced down her spinal cord, the image of her father in a casket haunting her. But as soon as the image came, it left. “Still, those are a lot of words just to say you couldn’t wait for college to get rid of me” She gave her a resentful side eye and settled deeper into the layered flannel, the New York fall climate was drilling through her bones. What part of her mind suggested wearing a cropped tank in the beginning of September? Most importantly, why did the other parts of her brain listen to the dumb idea a pair of crooked brain cells suggested?

Before her mother could say any further, a voice and a chorus of echoing steps made them both turn their way to the direction of the sound “Hey Crystal!” Mrs. Methyd’s eyes dropped. There was no way Crystal was talking to her now, as the newfound excuse to not do so appeared in front of them. 

_‘Saved by the bell’_ The teen thought, it was visible the way Crystal’s chest deflated and her shoulders relaxed at the sight of her forever known friend. She waved happily to greet her friend and the stranger walking alongside her with a cheery smile “Hi Widow!” 

Widow remembered vividly the day she met Crystal. The story was too lengthy for her to bother to remember all the details, but what she was sure of is that it included a sand castle, a swing, an asshole of a six year old boy, a knocked off tooth and a lot of crying. But being honest, everywhere Crystal went there was crying. But now she was facing a different Crystal. It was not only the hair and the broken wrist but her features said something else. She was much more different from the girl she met all those years ago, and had yet to figure it out if she had changed for good. 

“You didn’t tell me your friend was… extravagant” Heidi whispered to her friend as they walked up to them. 

Rather judgmental, Heidi found herself curious; the way Widow described this character wasn’t even close to the girl standing a few feet away wearing all those conflicting patterns: the blue and green flannel layered with a green zip up hoodie, the baggy denim jeans full of skillfully painted distorted smiley faces, held tight by a black studded belt, the green cropped tank, a rather mental decision for the lowering temperatures, and the pair of white thick sneakers that needed a wash. Her accessories only added even more to the bold choices, the layered chunky bracelets and the different clips in her hair just added more to the ensemble. 

“Last time I saw her she was wearing all black” Widow argued back before they both flashed toothy smiles towards the women in front of them. The memory of the funeral was blurry. What she could clearly remember was how her friend behaved; while everyone was crying, she seemed miles away, eyes far in the distance while she co-existed in the depressing environment Removing the chilling memory, Widow beamed at a new version of the girl she always knew. “Come here!” She laughed, extending out her arms, pulling Crystal into a warm hug. 

“I missed you!” Crystal strained through the tight embrace, before being let go of. In all honesty, she did miss her. They went to different schools, but lived in the same neighborhood, until Widow was sent to Redwood with a dance scholarship in freshman year. She noticed the pair of loud eyes next to her friend watching her every move, in which Crystal replied with a wave of her damaged hand, taking the unknown girl off guard once more. 

“I missed you too!” Widow smiled at her sincerely before turning to the visibly anxious middle aged woman, who was a rack of nerves “So glad to see you Mrs. Methyd.” She gave her a comforting hug, knowing how difficult her situation was, even though the reason Crystal broke her arm remained an enigma. “We’ll take it from here” She said politely, taking the suitcase from her hand in a swift movement. 

Mrs. Methyd approached her daughter, reaching out to hold her healthy hand, to which the girl begrudgingly allowed. The tension from their moments at the car rose again when Maggie started searching for Crystal’s eyes, who were actively avoiding her. She sighed in defeat, letting go of her daughter’s hand “I’ll see you on Winter Break, okay? Call me when we agreed to” 

“I will. Bye mom” Crystal said, her tone remained as neutral as the previous nod. She gave her the grace of a half assed smile before walking away, not wanting to look back. Both the girls noticed there was definitely something wrong there, but decided to not object on the matter. It was none of their business. 

After a few seconds of silence, Widow cleared her throat “Crys, this is my friend Heidi. She’s rooming with us and this new girl transferring from California” She pointed to the girl walking on par with them. 

“So nice to finally meet you Crystal! Widow has told me a lot about you!” Heidi beamed, the sweetness of her voice being a pleasant surprise for Crystal. It was comforting. “We’ll take your bags to our room and we’ll head on down to Mrs. Visage’s office! They’ll give you your schedule and the ballots for the uniforms and textbooks. After that, you’re officially stuck with us” 

They walked what seemed to be infinite hallways, broad and tight, light and dark. With her choice of clothing, Crystal felt like she didn’t belong in the rather terrifying hallways, the weather outside made the ambiance gloomy. She did notice the architecture was stunning, resembling the buildings she’d encounter on her travels to the UK. As they walked to the adjacent building, the architecture changed into something more similar to a Parisian style building, the color of the walls shifted from brown to a very soft beige. The scenery became less serious, displaying the reality of hormonal girls in development living there; posters scattered about, trophies, more art, class pictures and other things that gave the building a more relaxing attitude. After climbing a marble set of stairs, Crystal was received into a living room before climbing a shorter pair of wooden stairs to an upper level where all the rooms resided.

“We’re here!” Widow announced upon taking the first door to the right. Crystal and Heidi followed suit. 

“Sorry for the mess! Widow got here last night and I arrived in the morning, we didn’t have time to pick everything up” Heidi scrambled to put some things together and leave some space for the new things that were brought in. “You and uh… girl I don’t remember her name now are going on the two beds closest to the window.” 

“That’s right! This corner is yours, your mom said you might need space for your art set up so there you have it” Widow walked in first, setting down the bigger suitcase next to all the other boxes. Said corner was by the bed on the left said, close to the window that kept a desk some company. 

Crystal nodded and set aside her things next to the remaining luggage, the reality dawned upon her. For once, she realized how stupid she was. It wasn’t her mom’s fault she misbehaved, she sent herself into this situation, nobody else was to blame. Maybe she wasn’t even mad at her mom, but she was mad at herself and only reflected her terrible grief mechanisms onto others. Maybe—

Her friend’s voice brought her back to reality in less than a second. “Okay you’ll get time to cry later, let’s go, we have a tight schedule we— Wait do we have to tour the other girl too?” Suddenly, Widow’s attention turned to her gap toothed friend, who suddenly looked as lost as she was. 

“Aw shit Widow, we lost her!” Heidi scratched her head, looking at the suitcases next to the empty bed next to Crystal’s, as if the person they were looking for was going to jump out of them in any second, like a _Jack in the box._

“Lost who?” A voice from the door replied, calling their attention. Heidi left out a dramatic sigh before heading towards the girl. Widow motioned Crystal to do the same, the four standing next to each other. 

“Green” Was the first thing the girl said after they stood there staring at each other. Crystal didn’t take it to offense, on the contrary, she smiled and gave a little spin to show her outfit. “Is that your real hair? It looks so… cool” She whispered, intrigued, reaching in to touch the fading color on her strands. Her mom forced her to dye her hair back to brown, which she did, but left the tips green to add some… spice. Crystal just nodded in return. “I like it! I’m Roxanne. Call me Rock”

“I’m Crystal. Crystal Methyd” The new acquaintance looked visibly taken aback, but Crystal was proud to have the impact in people— whether it was her hair, her fashion, her makeup, her name. Everything was just, well just her. “Wait, like the athlete?”

“My brothers say Roxy is a hooker’s name, so we settled for Rock. Just Rock, not The Rock” The girl with the bright pink streaks concealed between dark brown strands replied. Crystal decided there she liked her. So far, she liked everyone she met in the rather deplorable situation. So far. 

“Let’s go! I don’t want to get there in rush hour. Too much wait time” The tug provided from Widow provided an abrupt change of scenery, not allowing Crystal to swallow in her new comfort space: the room she was sharing with three other people. Two of them she barely knew. But at the end of the day, she barely knew herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh i'm back! i took a hiatus from world in red to write this in secret ( well not that big of a secret if you follow me on my tumblr @sapphic-tomlinson ;) ) but i'm glad to say i'm back with this new au!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Widow and Heidi take Crystal and Rock to the office, where someone gives them both some piece of advice in the most questionable way. Fast forward to the first day of classes, Crystal finds herself lost in the hallways, when another student with an angelic smile offers to walk her to class.

The chewing Mrs. Visage produced with her gum was nerve racking. Crystal kept trying to distract herself but it was too obnoxious. The sound of long acrylic nails on the keyboard were something she found weirdly pleasing but the loudness of the chewing gum was producing a counter effect. 

“You’ve been to raves, haven’t you?” The woman behind the screen asked, not even taking the time to look up at the group. 

“Huh?” Crystal was the one to speak, scratching her shoulder over the clothes with her healthy hand. A pang of sadness washed over her face, remembering her raving days with her friends back at home. The experience of dressing a certain way and dancing right against other bodies, sometimes drunk, sometimes high, where no one really knew each other, was liberating. Getting ready and sneaking out were also one of her favorite parts of the experience. She suddenly found herself recalling one of probably the most legendary nights out. 

_“C’mon Crystal, just jump!” One of her friends from back home, Lux, spoke desperately as they waited for her. In any moment, Mrs. Methyd’s motherly instinct could be awakened, thus getting themselves busted._

_“Move Crys! You’re driving us tonight!” Her other friend, Daya, insisted from the front seat._

_Crystal sniffed and looked down at the green grass awaiting her. She looked up at the tree she was holding onto to then stare ahead at her impatient friends inside the convertible. The third girl, Daegen, tapped her wrist to indicate they were running out of time. She heard the lights in her mother’s room click. Fuck._

_“Lord, I’m not coming up this time” She manifested to infinity and beyond, feeling a breeze scatter through her clothes. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting go as if she was diving feet first into a pool, her platform boots hitting the floor first as she laid on her back, eyes up to the stars above._

“You” She looked up and redirected her eyes towards her, instantly snatching her consciousness back to the moment. “You’ve been to raves, right?” 

“Y-yes…” She swallowed thick. Where was that coming from? The typing suddenly stopped as Mrs. Visage looked at her up and down, to stop at her face with an unamused expression. “May I ask where does the question come from?” 

“Your makeup is distracting, that’s all” She shrugged “I know rave culture, I was there when it started. But this right here—” She raised her index finger and gave a sharp point towards her painted face “—Is too much for the school environment.” She stood up without giving the group another glance. “Same goes to you, Miss…” She looked down at one of her sheets she held, straight out of the printer “...Sakura” 

The two girls shared a confused stare, faces scrunched tight while the dean signed the timetables to confirm their legitimacy. Crystal looked over Rock’s shoulder at Widow, who just shrugged. Maybe the advice was for the better. They both faced back to the woman once she started speaking, but Crystal was gone in thought staring at the window behind her. 

“You two know the drill” Michelle turned to Widow and Heidi, who perked up at the directions “Take the respective tickets to the uniform locker and school book booth, pick their things up, yada yada yada” She extended her hands out with two sturdy sheets of paper, Rock and Crystal grabbing theirs respectively, along with said tickets. “Take the wounded one to the infirmary after that, the nurse needs to open a record for when her cast gets removed in about a week. You can leave now.” 

Widow dragged the two girls out, Heidi trailing close behind. As they walked, Crystal read through her schedule. It was… great, no complaints about the lessons. This year she was finally free from maths, as she took the advanced Humanities and Arts lessons. Only Biology and Health to cover the one STEM area she had to take but she enjoyed it. Breakfast was from 8 to 9, classes started at 9:30. A short study and snack break from 11:00 to 11:40 and a longer lunch break around 1:00-2:30. After that came the afternoon lessons, which were deemed less tedious and lasted until almost five. That’s if you were lucky. She nodded to herself and folded it inside her jacket pocket. 

After a while walking down what seemed to be just identical hallways, Rock checked their surroundings before commenting “God! Mrs. Visage is so bossy! And mean!”

“She’s… constructive” Heidi counterargued, even though the girl never took her advice too well. 

“I’m surprised she didn’t read you to your casket” Widow faced Crystal, who was occupied staring ahead and mentally going through her schedule. “She despises green. Like, a whole other level of hatred for the color” 

“You’re her worst nightmare since, you’re like the embodiment of green right now” Heidi coughed out a dry laugh, eyeing her new friend up and down once more. “Eh, maybe she sees some potential in you. I’ve heard her drag someone through the mud for wearing green makeup to a function of _Wicked._ It was okay until the girl responded back. Never heard of her since then” She sighed dramatically through her gap, a whistle pulling through. 

“Alexis? Jan’s sister?” Widow recognized the story being told “Didn’t she just… graduate?” The three turned with puzzled looks to their friend, who’s face flushed red. 

“Damn woman! Let me have some fun around here.” Heidi grumbled, her nose scrunching up in an attempt of a childish tantrum. “Oop! We’re here! First stop, the uniform booth!” The two new students looked at the glass store, a kind woman sat behind the counter with a smile. While Rock commented on her excitement about wearing uniforms, Crystal’s stomach flipped; ‘Not again’ her mind groaned all her concerns upon remembering the ugliest uniform she wore for catholic school. 

After two hours of walking around scouting out whatever else they needed, the four finally arrived in their bedroom. Crystal scurried inside, balancing her things in her available hand and her barely damaged forearm, mentally unprepared to encounter more strangers. While Rock took a nap that featured obnoxious snoring, Heidi and Widow had some catching up to do for themselves at the common area, leaving Crystal alone after she declined the invitation to join them. She sat in her bed for the most part, staring at the boxes as if they were magically going to start to unpack themselves. 

A loud snore made her jump out the bed, staring in awe at her roommate across from her. Jeez. Would the nurse have ear plugs? Or a clothing clip at least? She shook her head and slipped out of the two layers of clothing, realizing a warmer temperature started to settle on the atmosphere. The place proved itself to be lavish once more, with a central heater included. Avoiding the avalanche of thoughts that were threatening to clog her mind, Crystal unzipped her backpack open, searching through to find her walkman. 

Once she was all set to start unpacking she realized; she couldn’t do most tasks with only one hand available. After a few tries and only achieving to open her suitcases and tear half the sealing tape on the boxes, she gave up. The task at hand became trying to kick off the white sneakers without unlacing them, which only resulted in her tripping with her own two feet. The loud thud interrupted Rock’s harmonious snores, only to resume a few seconds later. Crystal officially gave up for the day and just laid on the carpeted floor, staring at a welcoming ceiling while Luis Miguel’s _Cuando Calienta el Sol_ playing obnoxiously on the headphones. Laying there motionless only made her decide it was about to be a long, long year. 

“This can’t be happening…” Crystal whined, feeling the tears well up on her hazel eyes. First day and she was already late for her first class, ever. She knew something like this could happen, so she rehearsed her whole walk to each and every single one of her classrooms, Heidi guiding her through. But now, it was like the cassette her brain concealed erased everything, the tape dissolving away, leaving her head empty. The tote bag she used to carry materials hung on her clothed shoulder, the weight of the books suddenly becoming more apparent as the identical walls of the identical halls started to close in. Oh no. 

Her clothes started to feel tighter; the skirt was too short, her socks and shoes were too tight, the collar of the polo shirt was asphyxiating, the cardigan and vest combo became too warm and her favorite jewelry became heavy. Aside from that, her eyes burned from wearing framed glasses for the first time in a while and the itchiness of her casted arm made things worse, the fact she didn’t have any tools— like a wire hanger for instance— to scratch herself was the worst thing that could have ever happened to little Crystal Methyd on that breezy Monday morning. As she gnawed away her thoughts on her bottom lip and took her lungs for a ride with a pattern of hitched breathing, a hand laid on her free shoulder, startling her.

“I’m sorry!” The girl apologized instantly, flinching at the pained expression on her new acquaintance’s face. “You seem lost, are you okay? I’ve never seen you before” Her voice was soothing to her counterpart, who visibly fell less tense. 

“I don’t only seem lost but I _am_ lost” Crystal sighed, aggravated “I’m also new. I’m Crystal Methyd” The girl’s face twisted into a diverse series of emotions as she processed the new information. Without missing a beat, Crystal spoke again “I know. My parents think I’m a joke” 

“I’m sure you’re not… Wait, you’re Widow’s friend” More than a statement rather than a question, Crystal still nodded her head to confirm “Jaida Essence Hall.” She extended her hand out, receiving a bright green cast in response.

“Oh, uh. Aight. Let me just—“ Jaida exchanged hands to Crystal’s commodity, who stretched out her healthy hand. Crystal cringed visibly when she noticed her hand was incredibly sweaty. Ugh. 

“So…” Jaida remained upfront against Crystal’s awkward attitude, taking the upper hand in their conversation “Good news for you! I know this place like the back of my hand, can I see your schedule?” 

Without any other words, Crystal sniffled and reached into her pocket, allowing Jaida to grasp the striking piece of paper, which was decorated in colorful doodles. “Oh look! We share most classes. We’ve got art history now, let’s go.” She started walking away but Crystal stood there, not processing the situation “C’mon, let’s bounce!” 

Now calm and collected, walking side by side with Jaida, Crystal could observe her properly for the first time. There wasn’t a speck in her that was defective. From the bandana wrapping head around the braided hair that fell to her shoulders, to the thin bangs styled to lay on her forehead, to the gradient glossed lips, everything was perfectly splendid. In Crystal’s mind, the only barely logical explanation to Jaida’s impeccable appearance was that she instructed all the cells in her body each morning to strive for nothing else than perfection, each time achieving so. If Crystal didn’t get accidentally smacked awake that morning, she could have swore she was dreaming or having a religious apparition. She realized she was in deep shit if all women in the school looked as perfect as Jaida did. 

“Oh great! The teacher isn’t here yet. So, we’re out of trouble” Jaida whispered back to her, not trying to break through the chatter erupting through the room.

The scenery was movie worthy, but not the way Crystal expected it. Everyone catching up with each other, telling away their summers like their lives depended on it, while sitting on desks instead of their chairs. Some were doing their makeup, plucking their brows, fixing their hair. It was more Clueless rather than the image of the convent in Sound of Music she had in mind when presented to the school. As everyone was in their own bubble, Crystal was able to pass through without bursting it. She wasn’t the new girl for a moment there, she was just another student. 

Until the teacher arrived and forced her to introduce herself to the whole class, standing by her place. She felt the eyes of other girls in the class eat her alive, her whispers consumed what was remaining of her dignity. Nevertheless, Crystal took it chill and breezy, deciding to not give it much thought at the moment. 

“Thank you so much for this” Crystal whispered to Jaida once they sat on the two person desk next to each other, rushing to take notes of the syllabus. Crystal’s note taking took a messy turn when speed was induced, giving her glittery gel ink barely any time to dry up. 

“Girl, it’s nothing. Widow and I were roommates last year, I’m more than glad to help out a friend of a friend” Jaida was quick to respond. 

It was unlike her to befriend someone so easily, her ability to remember faces and not names didn’t help in the slightest. Often, she found herself overly suspicious of others and how their presence might affect her life, the options mostly weighted to the negative side, so she just kept gaining acquaintances, not friends. But there was something about Crystal; everything was different about her, from the moment she met her Jaida knew it was safe to trust her. 

“A project?! We just started” She sighed, taking in the dictation the teacher was giving. She spoke like a locomotive, the words left her mouth at an incredible speed. At least she was understanding what the woman was saying. 

“That’s Redwood for you. I’m sure you’re a good sport, want to do it together?” Jaida offered nicely, watching from the corner of her eye the giddy expression arise to her new classmate as she nodded with excitement.

Crystal walked out of that class with a smile on her face. She had made a new friend. By herself. Maybe the year wasn’t going to be as bad as she considered it to be. Where in Missouri Crystal was often known by her reputation as a wild, colorful spirit without any direction— which often drew judgment from others— in Redwood she was, well, no one. Maybe her mom was right, a fresh start is something they both needed

“Where do you think you’re going?!” She heard a voice call out to her on the busy hallway. Jaida had the same expression her mother would produce whenever she caught her sneaking out or walking away from an argument. “English literature is this way!” 

“Oh!” Crystal let out a breathy chuckle, skipping ever so slightly to get by her side. Did she really drift away that much when thinking? “Sorry. Lead the way, Miss Hall”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not saying much here on the notes bc i'm oversharing in my tumblr @sapphic-tomlinson so go see that if you haven't


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the place she recognizes as her second home, Gigi faces diverse changes in the surroundings she thought she always knew, herself being included in this environment. Contrary to other years, change makes her grow concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ughhh i finally got the time to sit down and publish this! it's been sitting in my docs for a while now but last week was hell on earth i couldn't even think about it. without further ado, enjoy!

“Oh I’m going to miss you so much!” 

The tight embrace made Gigi tear up in her mother’s arms. The worst part of returning to the boarding school across the country was having limited time to spend with who she considered to be her true best friend, but a bit of relief washed over her upon the thought of not having to explain anything about herself to her dad. Both knew being at Redwood had its advantages when it came to colleges like Parsons, NYU and the Fashion Institute of Technology, another thing that made the distance worth it. Only the best of the best, because even Gigi herself knew it’s what she deserved going forward with her professional career. 

“Mom, you always come over for Thanksgiving, I’ll see you soon enough” Gigi gave a reassuring smile to her mother once they were facing each other again. She nodded, sniffling a little “No! Don’t cry!” Without a fail, Kristi Goode always cried when dropping off her girl at the Secondary School. Or any school, in that matter. 

“I’m sorry my dear, it’s just that you’ve grown up so fast right before my eyes” She released a teary chuckle and wiped away her tears carefully. “I’ll drop you off at the door. Let’s roll!” 

“Mom! No one says that anymore!” Gigi complained with a bright smile on her face, making it clear she was joking. She could never truly scold her mom, no matter the reason. 

“Oh _mon amour!_ ” Was the first thing Gigi heard when she crossed the door. Nicky Doll passed from being the foreign exchange student to her 8th grade crush to one of her greatest, closest friends. “I missed you!” 

“I can’t believe we’re roomies again!” Gigi squealed, setting her bags down and running up to hug her friend tightly. 

“I thought they were going to separate us after the _soirée_ fiasco last year!” Less than four months ago, as a way to commemorate the closing semester, they invited a small circle of people to have a small pajama party in their room, which was nothing out of the ordinary. But, it being a school so knit-tight, word spread like a wildfire. Some substances like alcohol and marijuana were found, but the amount of people in their room and the ones near were so much, no one could be really be blamed for anything. 

As Gigi was widely admired and praised by the school’s headmaster, she was let off the hook with a few hours of detention and not a stain on her record. A lot of people argued it was unfair, and an almost equal amount argued it was all she deserved. But generating controversy was something Gigi Goode was used to, and fed herself off from. 

“Who else might be with us?” Gigi asked, breaking away from the hug and smoothing out her friend’s designer blazer. Nicky’s mouth gaped open to reply, but a voice at the door interrupted her attempt. 

“ _Who else might be with us?_ ” Dahlia’s voice mocked her friend’s, the impression was oddly accurate. Before the pair could react, a loud thud and a pair of arms tugged them both into yet another tight embrace. Gigi wasn’t the biggest fan of hugs, but when it came to the warmth her friends brought after so much time separated, hugs were incredible. “Ugh I missed you two so much!” 

Yet again, Nicky’s mouth opened to reply only to be interrupted by someone at the door. “Hey bitches!” The smooth voice resonated in the closed space. The french girl was about to be mad for yet another interruption, until she visualized who it was “She’s here!” 

A combination of amusement and confusion twisted onto Gigi’s features. Jaida Essence Hall was both her competition and her greatest acquaintance. Not that they wanted to compete, people just found ways to compare them to each other, as if they were searching for a source of drama that would actually never come knocking on their doors. Rather than hatred, they felt admiration and respect for each other, and often realized they made quite the decent team when working on projects. But, it was always Nicky, Gigi and Dahlia rooming together; the scheme hadn’t changed in years. What had happened? 

Dahlia raised a brow noticing how this was the first time Nicky didn’t fluster at the appearance of their new roommate. Did she lose interest in Jaida? She knew the foreigner never wanted to say anything, but actions spoke more than words. Dahlia might fail english literature this year, but she knew a lot about love literature. However, she was never able to figure out where Gigi was regarding her love life. Whenever either of them asked, she shifted uncomfortably in her place, tensed up and urged to change the subject. At that point, both her best friends gave up on their hopes on knowing what was inside Genevieve’s mind regarding her feelings towards people, and left her alone with her thoughts. 

“You’re here with us?! This is all that and a bag of chips!” She was the first one to greet Jaida, the others doing so reluctantly, Nicky because she was utterly embarrassed, and Gigi was utterly curious. 

“I don’t want to seem rude, and I hope it doesn’t sound rude, and maybe it is literally none of my business but…” She took a deep breath in, pausing once she noticed she was rambling. Jaida gave her a look to extort her into continuing “...But, what are you doing here?” 

“Oh haven’t you heard?” Dahlia didn’t allow Jaida to even respond, her eyes glimmering at the chance of gossip “We’ve got two newbies in our year. One is a transfer from the Cali location and the other one just switched schools to here. I heard she killed her father and had to run away somewhere else” 

The other three girls stared at her friend in horror, eyes open wide. How can you just conspire on someone murdering one of their parents? Jaida shook her head to the idea “Dahlia, please! That ain’t something to joke about” She scolded the girl, flicking her hair behind her shoulder “Widow told me they’re long time friends. That’s all I know” 

“Maybe we can ask about them later” Nicky gave the most rational answer in the room, to which the rest agreed. Gigi’s stomach churned. She didn’t want to talk to anyone new. In fact, she didn’t want anyone new at all. Building trust among her classmates was something that took her ages, only for her having to go through the process again with two strangers. No. She had a bad feeling about this. Still, despite her secret distress, she followed her friends towards the two girls sitting on the couch in their common room. Gigi caught a glance of two girls rushing inside the dorm two doors away from hers. Huh. 

“Hey girls!” Nicky called out, approaching them with a bright smile. The two instantly did the same, getting up to greet the small group that walked towards them.

“I can’t believe we got separated this year” Jaida spoke first after the exchange of pleasantries, her three other new roommates standing besides her with quiet smiles. 

“Sucks ass, doesn’t it? I offered myself to host the new girls anyway.” Heidi answered the question on why they both landed with them, instead of setting them up each in separate rooms. “And with Widow knowing one of them, it isn’t that big of a surprise”

“You’re too nice, Heidi” Jaida shook her head lightly, eyes lightning up at the mention of the topic of interest. “What about those two girls? Are—”

Dahlia butted in, interrupting Jaida who shut her mouth into a straight line and stared blankly upon being interrupted, avoiding to look mad “Is it true one of them murdered her dad?”

While Gigi, Nicky and Jaida cringed, Heidi and Widow stared at her in blank horror, just like her roommates had done earlier but somehow even worse. Widow opened her mouth, trying to find the right words and failing so pathetically “Of course not!” She cried once she was able to speak properly, shaking away the shock, something Heidi hasn’t been able to do. “Her dad died last winter but he was very sick! Where did you even hear that?” 

Heidi just winced at the idea of someone so whimsical, sensitive and overall nice like Crystal just straight up murdering someone, and that was only the first impression she gathered from her. It was ridiculous to even consider that someone might be her father. After their catastrophic reactions, Nicky smacked Dahlia’s arm. 

“Ow! What did you do that for?!” She rubbed the affected area, staring at her friend deeply offended. 

While Nicky raised her hand up to her face as the classic non verbal ‘Talk to the hand’ answer, Jaida actually gave her a reason “Because that rumor is dumb and pointless! You didn’t have to ask them!” 

“Not only that, it’s terrifying” Widow scratched her neck, laughing humorously with a concerned expression on her face. The others mirrored her action as the air in the room grew uncomfortable. “Anyways, is that all you wanted to ask? Because—“ 

“No. We want the whole story. What’s the 411?” Dahlia once more interrupted the other person speaking. Widow blinked several times with her mouth agape and a finger raised, only to lower it into a slightly exasperated expression. Gigi was far away from the conversation happening in front of her, her mind wandering about how they were going to decorate the common room this year. A thud that vibrated from inside one of the rooms above startled her, bringing her back to her current reality. 

“I think you should find that out by yourself, Dahlia” Heidi shrugged, a tiny smile on her lips “They’re nice and don’t bite… even though one of them looks like she does” 

Dahlia’s face dropped in disappointment and Gigi knew she was going somewhere else after they were finished there to ask her friends on other classes on anything they might know on the new girls, even though last time that happened she was involved in a murder plot allegation. 

“Well it was nice talking to you ladies, but we’ve both got a lot of things to unpack. And I’m guess you do, too” Widow excused her and her roommate back into their bedroom. The group of four stood there and watched them leave, catching an interaction. 

“Crystal! What are you doing on the floor?!” Heidi gasped, pushing Widow out of the way to rush inside the bedroom. Widow rolled her eyes with a smile and walked inside after her, closing the door after. 

“Well, at least you know one of them is named Crystal” Nicky turned to an upset Dahlia with a cheeky smile, gaining a sloppy slap back on her arm as a way to express her disappointment. Unlike her friends, Gigi stored the new information in mind and mindlessly walked behind her friends, scavenging deep in her mind for ideas on how to decorate her dorm, trying to remember where in her bag she left the magazine clippings she had for inspiration. 

Later that night, she laid in bed staring at the ceiling, paying close attention to the sounds that surrounded her; the soft breathing her sleeping friends produced, the crickets chirping and the distant sounds the lake and its ecosystem produced. Each night she arrived there was the same, in the best way possible. Gigi took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, swearing to herself it was going to be a _goode_ year, regardless of what adversities could come her way. 

“You’re late” Nicky pointed out from her bed in the left corner of the room, looking over her magazine to stare at Gigi, who swung her backpack to someplace else. The first day decided to be against her internal wishes, starting out her school year with the wrong foot forward. “I thought your lessons ended at four” 

“They did! But I already have _three_ introductory projects for _tomorrow!_ I’m totally buggin’!” The redhead whined as her friend Nicky sat up to face them, setting down an old edition of People magazine that she picked from Gigi’s collection without her consent, but neither thought much of it. Gigi took a peek and her heart sunk at the cover. _‘Murder of a Fashion King’_ it read, with a picture of Gianni Versace and Cindy Crawford, posing together in a 1992 event. 

Just like anyone else who dreamed of working with fashion giants in their future, the death of an icon such as Versace had struck both Gigi and Nicky hard. It was unexpected, unfair. The most bone chilling part was the fact he was killed at his own doorstep. If Cunanan had arrived just a bit later, Gigi wouldn’t have received a call from Nicky at 8 AM on a warm summer morning, shrieking and crying out the news. 

“Me too!” Jaida announced from the door, huffing in as well “Art history, english literature and debate! This ain’t fun!” She threw the door shut behind her to not startle the rest of the girls in their dorm block. 

“We have an english lit project? I’m soo going to fail this year,” A voice groggily replied from under the crumpled duvet. “I don’t want to play this junior year shit anymore” 

“No duh! You weren’t even there this morning!” Jaida complained, her bag hitting the floor with a plop! “You can’t expect to have at least a B if you’re not there!” She stood behind Nicky, who was leaning back on her bed frame. 

“What are you doing in AP english lit anyways?” Gigi wondered, looking up at her friend who sat up and stretched, rubbing her eyes awake. 

“She cheated her way to it” Nicky shrugged. Gigi vividly remembered Dahlia asking her to rip out the built inseam out of her skirt, sew it up again and leave it hollow. Gigi just agreed to it and did so, thinking she just wanted less length off the piece just like so many people before her had asked, only to find out it was the place she stuffed in her cheating tricks and mechanisms. If Gigi knew it was going to be like that, she would have never agreed to sow anything in the first place. Sometimes she was a goody two shoes, but most of time she wasn’t; she knew if Dahlia started cheating on all her exams something like that would happen “She ended the year with an A plus and ended up there” 

“I didn’t know they were splitting us up! I couldn’t handle regular english literature, how am I supposed to handle the advanced placement? I barely know my ABCs” Dahlia cried dramatically, throwing herself back into the bed, her body bouncing back slightly. 

“I’m barely passing myself, you’re going to handle this one on your own” Jaida looked her way with her arms crossed, getting another groan as a reply. She averted her eyes to Gigi, who looked back and caught on the idea instantly, but it was too late. “Dibs on the window desk!” And without a warning, Jaida sprinted across the room, almost knocking down Nicky back to her bed. 

“Not fair!” Gigi groaned, picking up her bag to head towards the other desk, the one that contained poor lightning compared to the other, that had both natural and artificial light coming from the lamp above. 

After sitting, the room got sucked into silence. Music was felt from another room, bass banging through. While Nicky read a magazine as she did all her homework quickly as soon as class finished, both Gigi and Jaida were concentrated on their homework. Dahlia sat besides Jaida catching up with the class she missed and the fundamentals for the project. Dahlia groaned at Jaida when she said she already had a partner for the english literature project. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t depend on you! I didn’t even know you were in the class until the teacher passed assistance” Jaida replied to her complaints. The room was silently curious in whom this person was, Jaida kept her partner and group working circle very tight, to avoid leeches; people who just sucked the energy and the work out of her without making an effort.

“Geege” Nicky called, gaining her friend’s attention. “Why so many magazine clippings of Julia Roberts?” She raised the fragile paper, taking it out of the tin case where all her magazine clippings were kept. 

Gigi’s back sprung up, her breath jagged in her throat while looking back at her friend. While her friends barely seemed phased or even bothered, they were bright red alarms blaring on her mind. _‘They found your secret gay agenda…’_ A voice sung in maliciousness _‘They’re going to hate you forever’_ The little devil in her mind reminded her with all the wrong intentions, making her shiver. 

“Oh, nothing. I just like her style” She played it off, looking away from Nicky, who just shrugged and placed the clippings away, continuing with her search for another magazine to busy herself in reading. 

While her friends saw her complete her homework in serenity, Gigi’s mind was wiring with concern. It continued along while she took a shower, as she replied to the conversations and ate mindlessly through dinner. She kept thinking about the horrible mistake committed earlier.

Why weren’t her prayers working? Was it because she wasn’t catholic enough? Every year the harder she prayed, the less it worked; each year her romantic attraction to women just _worsened._ Did her friends know already? Nausea ran through her throat at the thought of her dad knowing again. She pushed her plate away and sighed, placing her head on her hand, looking rather concerned. Unlike other years, inner demons fought profusely and she sighed, realizing it wasn’t probably going to be a good year after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Crystal finishes an exhausting first day of class and ventures into the second at Redwood, she starts to open up her horizons and meet the people she shared grade and a few classes with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol this is a new year's gift perhaps?? it's still nye for me but happy new year, i can't wait to leave this dumpster of a year behind.

“How’d it go?” Widow snapped Crystal out of her thought process once she crossed through the doors of their room. It was just her in the room, Heidi seemed to be somewhere else and she passed by Rock in the common room. 

“Good. It was nice!” She nodded, running through the events of the day “I made a new friend. Her name is Jaida” The girl smiled with certain pride off her chest. Widow perked up at the mention of a familiar name. 

“Aww you met Jaida already? She was our old roommate, just the best” Widow smiled to herself, catching a pang of guilt flash across her friend’s face. “But! I could have the Queen of England herself as a roommate and I wouldn’t get mad if they were to change her because you were coming” 

Widow still hadn’t figured out this new Crystal that adapted into her lifestyle, after giving it some thought, she decided she liked this new version of her. So far, it was nothing but harmless changes regarding her appearance, or at least of that that she knew of. Crystal gifted her a cheery smile accompanied with a soft sigh as she delicately laid her book bag next to the feet of her bed. Widow watched intently, stopping to do so when the girl started to slip off her shoes and outerwear, and went back to concentrating on the activity of the finishing touches the space she occupied required to simulate home. 

“Do you have any homework?” Widow asked after a moment of silence, watching the girl stop the apparent joyous task of staring at their ceiling to reach out to grab her walkman. 

“I had some. Did it earlier at the library. I sat at the table next to this gal but she seemed hostile…” Crystal remembered, riffling through the drawer on her nightstand to pull out one of the CDs, not caring which one she ended up selecting. 

“Let me guess; blonde hair with black streaks, blue eyes that look like they could shoot lasers?” Widow stopped her task, ‘hostile’ being one of the few words that she’s heard of Nicky Doll as a first impression, and even so thinking it herself. 

Crystal’s eyes circled around their sockets, going through the list and trying to make a match of it with what she saw “Oh, yep. Really pretty though” She nodded, taking a look at the mixtape in her hand. Shrugged, propped open the lid and dropped the thin disk inside, closed it once more and pressed play. 

Her friend across took it as her cue to leave her alone, watching her sigh and close her eyes, raising her hands to place them side to side on her head. Once Widow was done decorating her space, she was greeted by soft breathing racking through a quiet space. Crystal was in deep sleep, whatever she was listening through boomed through the headphones but that didn’t seem like enough to wake her. 

Widow dusted off her hands and headed over to her, pausing the music and removing the earphones to place the item back to its place on the nightstand, almost dropping it on the girl’s face. Crystal didn’t even seem to bother, and just kept breathing slowly, shivering slightly. The pink leopard print throw blanket soon provided warmth, and her dreams became silent as the heavy curtains were drawn shut and the lights turned off. Widow recognized the first day was always rough, and decided to allow her to sleep, ignoring the bass booming from another room and the chaos coming from the other. 

The following morning, Crystal was surprised at the amount of classes she was dismissed from earlier than usual. Or the fact most of the teachers never showed up, and by the third period it was announced on the speakers around campus that classes were off for the rest of the day. Heidi explained it was probably an emergency teacher conference. By their first break, Tuesday was declared a rather slow day which she spent moping around the common room, avoiding the sight of any other student in her grade, when most seemed to have the same peculiarity in terms of wanting to rest extra hours. However, so far, aside from her roommates, Jaida was her only acquaintance, making her shy away from everyone else. 

“There you are!” A voice took Crystal away from resting her eyes under her scribbled copy of Sappho’s book of poetry. She was laying on the quilted armchair, legs splayed and arms crossed protectively across her chest. It bothered her how accustomed she had grown of the place, the browns and beiges were inviting in their own intricate structure. She should be sitting by a window dreading every second, not napping through it. 

She groaned at the sudden impact of light and soft breeze that ruffled her lashes, forcing her to open her eyes to see a pair of bright brown ones staring back at her hazel ones. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

“Clearly not everywhere” Crystal joked, sitting up correctly, managing to squeeze a humorous scoff from her counterpart. 

She fixed her glasses and stared out the window for a quick minute before turning to Jaida. It was a bit cloudy, so the gloomy skies couldn’t really indicate what time it was. It was definitely later than ten but not past noon. It comforted Crystal in knowing she wasn’t the only one who had changed back to their regular clothing, observing Jaida’s immaculate choice of outfit, consisting of a mini skirt, a pair of black stockings for the lowering temperatures, a striped turtleneck and a racer jacket that looked fashionably enormous on her. Damn. Will she ever look bad? Crystal wondered and stood up when stared at expectantly. 

“Sorry to wake you like this” Jaida started upon noticing how she rubbed her eye with her healthy palm, taking a quick second to read the cover of the book and handing it back to its owner, seemingly uninterested. 

“Ah, no worries” Crystal just nodded in return, setting the book down behind her. Jaida observed the sleepy girl in front of her, watching her lazily tuck the blue turtleneck inside the tartan patchwork pants and fix the sweater vest with a dalmatian she used to layer. With the red socks and padded green slippers, it was conflicting, but attractive to the eye. But upon the lightbulb that lit on top of her head, she decided to pinpoint that whole definition to Crystal herself; conflicting but attractive to the eye. 

Now it was Crystal’s turn to look at Jaida expectantly; she had been staring. She cleared her throat “Was it a good nap at least?” 

Crystal seemed to think about it, the tugging of her bottom lip caught Jaida’s attention. She turned back and reached for her book. On Sunday night she could barely shut her eyes by the nerves that ate away her stomach and intestines. When she could finally catch some z’s, chaos took over the room in the early hours when the breezy Monday began, provided by Rock and Heidi arguing not-so-quietly for whom was showering first. One thing led to another and while getting out of the bathroom, Rock slipped and fell on Crystal’s bed, her arms flung across her sore, sleepy features. So now they had bathroom turns and time limits, since Rock consumed all the warm water that was disposed of for them in the mornings. 

Last night, however, she woke up when Widow had indicated to her what was supposed to be dinner time and found the room empty. Taking that to her advantage, she stripped, wrapped her cast in cling wrap and showered in peace before hitting the sheets again up until Heidi was leaving early to exercise. “Eh. Can’t tell” She was honest to say the least “To what do I own the honor of you seeking for my presence?” She tried a posh accent, the foolishness squeezing a laugh out of Jaida. 

“FYI, we still have that art history project for tomorrow and english literature one for thursday,” She recalled, watching the girl slump down and sigh in disappointment. “Yeah, me too. I promise we’ll soon get it over with” Jaida tried to lift up the work spirits, earning a nod that confirmed her advances have been worth it “We can do it in my dorm”

“Let’s bounce, then. I’ll pick up my things on the way there” Crystal nodded, indicating her to lead their path. As Jaida stopped on the door farthest to Crystal’s, she headed down the short lengthened hall and entered her room, exiting and reaching her groupmate soon enough. 

“Welcome to my room. Excuse the tiny mess, we’re still organizing” Jaida pointed vaguely around the room, each corner with its own little defect. The fact all of the room’s residents had their space a bit disorganized brought more hegemony to the room. Compared to Crystal’s, it was slim perfection; in hers, there was complete chaos going on in one corner, absolute perfection in another, and the most natural components were the two corners that were just a bit disorganized. 

“Um, it’s okay. I’ve seen worse” She joked, taking a seat on the desk next to the window, where Jaida indicated her to. She wheeled the other desk chair in the room next to hers, gave her a small smile and started to work. 

Two hours into their work, Jaida was impressed by Crystal’s work ethic; she used a lot of colorful pens to add substance to their work, along with other tactics like bullets, arrows and highlighting. The one thing she noticed was the horrible posture the girl kept when sitting down. Legs splayed, sometimes set into the weirdest angles. Currently, they stayed close to each other, legs somehow intertwined as they wrote down and commented on what they decided was more useful to the report. 

The room and atmosphere they maintained between them was pretty silent, the only sounds were minimal; the music set on a low volume in the CD player, the scribbling of pens and pencils, the flick of pages and the occasional humming along to the melody of whatever was playing. The rapid steps and rushed discussion brought both their attentions towards the door that swung open. 

Crystal blinked at the sight of two unknown girls; one of them looked like she was about to pass out from the hysterics and the other one looked about done with her company’s attitude. She leaned her head to the side, effectively recognizing them both, one she noticed in english literature class and the one she encountered the previous day raised her brows at the scene they just walked in. Before anyone could say anything, the girl with black waves rushed towards the desks. 

“You’re Crystal, the new girl with the cast and all the Lisa Frank pens, right?!” She asked at an alarming pace, staring at the girl without allowing almost any personal space between them. Crystal just swallowed hard and nodded slowly, catching a sight of Jaida from the corner of her eye. She just gave her an insecure toothless smile, as a way to apologize before her friend proceeded “Thank God! I’ve been looking all over for you. I need you to tutor me” 

Crystal’s face twisted into a sour, confused frown: She understood why Jaida was looking for her, but not this. “...What?” She let out a nervous chuckle. Jaida noticed the nerves and confusion on her new friend and stepped into the scene, saving her once more. 

“Dahlia, you can’t just come at her like that” She reprimanded the girl, moving her away from poor Crystal who seemed as terrified as Dahlia was when she first entered. She allowed herself to breathe with more than a few steps in between them. 

“Right” She groaned at her roommate before turning to her classmate “Sorry. I’m Dahlia by the way” She sighed before taking Crystal’s extended hand “...Please? The teacher loves you already. I don’t really care about ancient white men and their feelings and you seem to know everything… somehow.” 

“I’m Crystal, but you already knew that” She introduced herself officially “I know only the basics. I don’t know if that will be enough to, uh, tutor somebody”

“Well I can assure you that’s more than what I know!” Dahlia sighed, clearly exasperated. “Look, I absolutely fluked that oral pop quiz. And you seem good enough! Miss girl here, however—” She looked at Jaida, who looked away instantly. “—Doesn’t want to help me” 

“I can… think about it…” Crystal nodded, looking down to start her thought process right away. “Can’t promise you anything. I still need to, you know, adapt” She did air quotes of the last word, even though it was completely true. Dahlia just nodded in return and silence sunk into the room. Now both her and an unknown girl were watching her every move. 

“So!” Jaida cleared her throat, and once more Crystal thanked the heavens for her “Crystal, this is Nicky. She’s our other roommate” The mentioned approached their little circle, standing besides Dahlia once more. 

“I saw you at the library yesterday. Why didn’t you say hi?” Nicky said after the exchange of pleasantries. Crystal was surprised to say the least with the girl’s positive aura and bright smile. 

Now, how was she supposed to explain to the girl she seemed rude the previous afternoon? “Uh…” Crystal just muttered out, Jaida catching up with her thoughts right away. 

“Nicks, you’re a bit scary when you’re quiet. Can't blame her.” Jaida pressed her lips into something resembling a toothless smile, similar to a few minutes earlier. Crystal just looked down at her slippers, arms crossed. 

“As if!” Nicky replied, visibly offended. However, when her eyes landed on Crystal who was unresponsive to the claim, her features softened “Wait, am I scary at first glance?” 

Crystal pressed her lips into a line and did a hand gesture, leaning her laid out hand side to side to indicate a “sort of”, not really feeling comfortable to form any type of conflict or make the other feel uneasy. 

“Ugh” Nicky sighed, defeated. The way her face naturally rested wasn’t something that could be changed. Her eyes scanned over Crystal one more time, landing on the cast. “How did you break your arm?”

“Did you, like, land against a rock while bungee jumping?” Dahlia spewed out her illogical idea before the girl could barely open her mouth. Crystal just stared at her, blinking several times. 

“Ignore her” Nicky laughed, trying to hide her disappointment. Jaida joined in, as unimpressed as she was. 

“It’s fine! Fun assumption though” Crystal had to admit. Well, ‘fun’ was a way to describe it. “I… fell off…” She started, getting looks filled with expectancy _‘A moving car; willingly. You idiot’_ Her mind intruded, but her mouth knew what to say already, of how many times her mom made her practice in the living room mirror before leaving. “...Off a flight of stairs at home. I… slid down and tried to stop the movement with my arm. The rest is history” She smiled sad but innocently. She didn’t trust them enough to actually say the truth. What would they think of her then? No one in their right mind jumped out of a moving car, under any circumstance. 

“Ouch, that must have hurt,” Nicky nodded. Crystal remembered the fact not only she broke her arm but scraped her hands, forearms, knees and selected areas of her face. Bruises also covered her sides. It was a nightmare. But there was no one to blame but herself. 

“Like you can’t imagine” She replied with a cutesy smile, bitter inside upon remembering the memories. 

Before anyone else could say any further, one of the alarm clocks went off. 2:00 PM, it announced. Wasn’t lunch around 1:00? Crystal wondered, her stomach starting to grumble. 

“Oh shit, lunch is going off in thirty!” Jaida realized, the girls taking it as a cue to leave the room. Personally, Crystal didn’t take it as a command for her to follow, so she just sat back down on the chair, discreetly watching them leave. 

“I heard Heidi say they were starting a bit late because it’s pasta day” Dahlia replied, following after her. 

“C’mon!” Nicky called from the doorframe, her two companions staring at her expectantly “You can’t possibly miss pasta day! The lasagna is heavenly!” 

A warmth spread around Crystal’s chest, and with a tiny smile she took the invitation, skipping over to them. “Let’s go!” Her smile grew to a more genuine one, the gesture contagious between the group as the rest smiled back without any issue. 

“Wait, if you have that cast, how do you bathe?” Dahlia asked, turning to the brown haired girl, getting reprimanded by her friends right away. 

“It’s a medical mystery” Crystal laughed, inviting the others to do the same. “You don’t want to know how many feet of cling wrap I’ve used for the past four months!” Their footsteps faded along with the sound of giggles and chatter, leaving behind an empty silence on the dorm rooms and their surroundings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> u might be wondering, is there a luv triangle happening? i guess we'll never know (cue american boy by estelle ft. kanye)


End file.
